Great Discoveries Books in Order
Great Discoveries contains 12 books, published between 2004 and 2011. The first book is Einstein's Cosmos (2004) and the newest is Obsessive Genius (2011). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 12
- Published
- 2004–2011
- Pages on record
- 256 in 1 of 12 books
Great Discoveries is a line of 12 short books on scientists and their work, published between 2004 and 2011, with a rotating cast of writers. Michio Kaku, Sherwin B. Nuland, Madison Smartt Bell, Rebecca Goldstein, David Leavitt, David Quammen, George Johnson and Richard Reeves are each credited on 1 book. Einstein's Cosmos (2004) opens the line, followed by The Doctors' Plague (2004), Lavoisier in the Year One (2005), Incompleteness (2005) and The Reluctant Mr. Darwin (2006). Recorded subjects include biography, chemistry and the history of chemistry. Obsessive Genius (2011) is the last catalogued title.
How many Great Discoveries books are there?
Great Discoveries has 12 books, released between 2004 and 2011.
Great Discoveries Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 12 Great Discoveries books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1Einstein's Cosmos2004 · confirmed 2/42004–2/4
- 2The Doctors' Plague2004 · confirmed 2/42004–2/4
- 3Lavoisier in the Year One2005 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/420052562/4
- 4Incompleteness2005 · confirmed 2/42005–2/4
- 5The Man Who Knew Too Much2006 · confirmed 2/42006–2/4
- 6The Reluctant Mr. Darwin2006 · confirmed 2/42006–2/4
- 7Miss Leavitt's Stars2006 · confirmed 2/42006–2/4
- 8A Force of Nature2007 · confirmed 2/42007–2/4
- 9The Georgian Star2008 · confirmed 2/42008–2/4
- 10The Earth Moves2009 · confirmed 2/42009–2/4
- 11Quantum Man2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
- 12Obsessive Genius2011 · confirmed 2/42011–2/4
Where to start with Great Discoveries
Start with Einstein's Cosmos (2004), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Great Discoveries book?
Obsessive Genius (2011) is the newest Great Discoveries book released so far.
Is there a new Great Discoveries book coming?
No next Great Discoveries book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Great Discoveries at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Great Discoveries title on record dates from 2011, 15 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Great Discoveries books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 256 pages across the 1 of 12 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Great Discoveries books, 10 of 12, were published in the 2000s.
- Attribution
- Of the 12 titles, 1 are credited to Michio Kaku, 1 to Sherwin B. Nuland, 1 to Rebecca Goldstein and 1 to Madison Smartt Bell. A further 8 writers are credited.
What the Great Discoveries books are about
1 of the 12 Great Discoveries books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. No subject is tagged on more than one of them, so each one below describes a single book. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Biography 1 of 1 books
- Chemical processes 1 of 1 books
- Chemistry 1 of 1 books
- Chemistry, history 1 of 1 books
- Chemists 1 of 1 books
- History 1 of 1 books
- Lavoisier, antoine laurent, 1743-1794 1 of 1 books
- Nomenclature 1 of 1 books